Mark L. Stout Consulting is an all-purpose transportation consulting firm, specializing in finance, program management, and legislative and DOT policy. Our company has served public agencies and non-profits, big and small, all across the nation. Mark is widely-recognized as an expert whose years of experience can help organizations to break through gridlock and deliver transformative projects and innovative community enhancements.

Mark L. Stout Consulting

Wednesday, January 31, 2018

Having recently spent a few days meeting with several
thousand of my friends and colleagues in transportation (otherwise known as the
Annual Meeting of the Transportation Research Board), I wanted to share a few
nuggets of information I picked up.

There is a lot of discussion these days in climate change
circles about the benefits of “green taxes” (e.g., carbon taxes) for promoting
desired behaviors while raising funds for governmental activities.And of course in transportation circles
there is always talk about the need for more money.So it is not surprising that people in
the overlap of those circles are looking into green taxes for transportation.

So, you might ask, what percentage of the American public
would support, for instance, a 10-cent increase in the gas tax, with the
revenue “dedicated to transportation projects to reduce global warning”?The answer is 54 percent.

This question is part of an ongoing survey research project
which folks at the Mineta Transportation Institute at San Jose State University
have been carrying out for seven years.(The report can be found here.)

Despite the noise you hear about Americans hating taxes, the
research shows that a majority of Americans support gas tax increases
when they are dedicated to transportation goals.The gas tax option gaining the highest support – 78 percent
– is for a 10-cent increase with revenue “spent on projects to maintain
streets, roads, and highways.”And
support for gas tax increases has been generally trending up during the
seven years for most of the options presented!

A follow-up piece of research (to be published) dug into the data collected over all seven
years of survey data to inquire whether there are any demographic
characteristics associated with support for green taxes (the “dedicated to
global warning” and two related ones).The specific research question was whether support for green taxes was
related more to “place” (urban vs. rural) or “people” – other identifiers.The short answer is “people.”The results showed that “it may not
matter as much where you live as who you are.No matter where you live, you are likely to support
transportation taxes if you are younger, female, Hispanic, and identify as a
Democrat.”

And one more research update on taxes from TRB: California
has had a remarkable history of successful local sales tax referendums for
transportation.These Local Option
Sales Taxes (LOSTs!) now generate $4 Billion a year for transportation.In the 40 years since this phenomenon
got started, approval rates have been well over 50 percent.And under the rules, a two-thirds
supermajority is required for adoption!Thanks to grad students at UCLA we now have a much better understanding
of how these things work (to be published).The main takeaways (my interpretation):

·People will support taxing themselves for
transportation when the objectives are clear (and popular),

·Approval rates go up over time when the local
jurisdiction (counties in California) delivers on the previous program,

·As a matter of practical politics, the mix of
projects in successful referendums is tailored to meet local needs (and
aspirations), and of course geographical balance,

·People are willing to invest much more in
transit, even in places where current transit usage is small,

·Bus transit tends to be a drag on the likelihood
of success relative to fixed-guideway, and

·“Maintenance” is a much better draw than
“operations.”

Bottom line: There is a broad reservoir of potential public
support for “green” taxes that benefit clean transportation.

Friday, January 19, 2018

Having recently spent a few days meeting with several
thousand of my friends and colleagues in transportation (otherwise known as the
Annual Meeting of the Transportation Research Board), I wanted to share a few
nuggets of information I picked up.

What can state DOTs do to advance decarbonization of the
transportation system?

First of all, it’s encouraging that this was a prominent
topic for discussion, including in a workshop dedicated to it.

Some general thoughts gleaned from various presenters and
commentators:

·The transportation sector is getting increased
attention as the electricity generation sector is – in many places – rapidly
cleaning up, leaving transportation as the next big challenge.

·State DOTs need to move beyond their normal
limits, getting involved in areas of the transportation space where they may
have no direct jurisdiction but which may be critical for decarbonization
efforts.

·Many states have adopted a “toolbox” approach to
greenhouse gas emissions reductions, but likely the “big two” tools are
promoting electric vehicle adoption (or, more precisely, increasing electric
vehicle miles traveled – eVMT) and carbon pricing.All the other measures are probably only nibbling at the
problem.

·And speaking of those toolboxes, how about
evaluating how they are working?A
number of states adopted climate change action plans or energy master plans
about 10 years ago or so.A few
have decided (I think it’s a great idea) to go back to those plans and take a
look at how many of the proposed measures were actually adopted, how well they
worked, and what lessons can be learned for planning the next 10 years.

And a few state-specific notes:

·Minnesotans are becoming very attuned to climate change issues,
as the state is experiencing higher temperature increases than any other
state.Minnesota DOT has set
up a “Sustainable Transportation Steering Committee” that plans to publish an
annual scorecard (first edition here) based on targets for reduced greenhouse
gas emissions in MnDOT facilities, fleet, highway operations, roadside
management, and construction areas.

·In Washington State the transportation sector
accounts for a whopping 44% of greenhouse gas emissions (a lot of electricity
is provided through hydroelectric power), leading WSDOT to keep climate change
issues on the front burner.In
addition to their well-known commitment to the West Coast Electric Highway
(being strengthened through deployment of new Fast Chargers), the agency is
funding electric buses, looking into the possibility of electric ferries (!),
operating a new Active Transportation Division, and pursuing a wide range of
partnership initiatives with other agencies and local governments.The state already has a carbon cap in
place, including transportation, but does not yet have a “trade” or “invest”
component to the scheme.

·I think most of us would put California in the
lead for dealing with transportation decarbonization, as they are in so many
spheres.Perhaps their most important
initiative right now is the carbon cap-and-invest program, which extends to the
transportation sector.But
Caltrans is also undertaking a wide range of important activities.To name a few: GHG emissions from
department operations have been reduced by 40 in 6 years; $220 million a year is
now programmed for Active Transportation(!); construction and materials (e.g.,
concrete) are being researched; the highway design manual has been revised to
encourage flexilibility for multimodal transportation (called “facilities,” not
“amenities”); the new high-speed rail line is planned as the spine of the
state’s transportation network.Lots of good stuff!

Wednesday, January 3, 2018

A little good transportation news (or, good transportation
news from a little country?)……..

Yes, we could all use some good news.How about a brand-new, spiffy-looking
tram in Luxembourg!

The new tram – very reminiscent of the Strasbourg tram –
connects several major activity centers, including the expo center, university,
European institutions, etc.In a
few years the line will extend to the city center, main railway station, and
airport.

Two new regional rail stations interconnect with the tram,
one requiring a funicular connection.

Of course, being Europe, the plan also includes bus
connections, a bikeway, bike lockers, and electric vehicle chargers.The whole scheme is packaged as “Good
Morning Mobilitéit!” (“mobility” in Luxembourgish – website here)

Speaking of Luxembourgish, I love the video (here) narrated
in that little-known language.(The subtitles are in French, and if that doesn’t help, the video works
anyway!)Another introductory
video can be found here.

The cars are very sleek and modern and look like they fit
perfectly with a city that combines old-world charm and ultramodern
institutions (again like Strasbourg).

The modern European tram combines features of what in the US
we would call light rail and streetcars.